A Fuffy Christmas Carol
by boop-oop-ee-doo
Summary: Faith's having some trouble getting into the holiday spirit, until her own personal ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future arrive to lend a hand. Buffy/Faith pairing.
1. A Messenger

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'A Christmas Carol'.

AN: This takes place at some point in the future after the end of Season 7. The Scoobies are spending Christmas at the new Slayer School/Watcher's council that Giles has set up. Buffy and Faith are a couple, and Tara and Anya never died so it's slightly AU.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve, and the Dark Slayer Faith Lehane wandered through the halls of the Slayer School seeing the in-training slayers and watchers engaging in yuletide festivities, yet felt unable to join in the celebrations herself. She couldn't see why all of them thought Christmas was such a big deal. It wasn't to her, and never really had been. The Dark Slayer cringed when she noticed Buffy making her way towards her carrying a Santa hat with a flashing bauble on the end which matched the one that she herself was wearing. She placed the hat on her girlfriend's head, but Faith quickly whipped it off.

"Oh no, no way in hell B" she said, backing away before her sister slayer attempted to replace the hat.

"Come on Faith, please?" said Buffy.

"Not for all the grog in Giles' secret stash."

"But we'll match" said Buffy, pointing to her own hat. "All the other couples are matching." Thinking about this for a moment, Faith had to admit that her girlfriend was telling the truth. She'd seen Xander and Anya in matching Santa jumpers, and she was pretty sure Willow and Tara were walking around wearing reindeer antlers. For a second, the Dark Slayer almost relented. Almost.

"I said no B." Faith pushed the hat back into Buffy's hand, then turned to walk away. "Christmas is just another excuse for all the big companies to make regular people spend more money. I'm not buyin' in to all that shit."

"Christmas isn't just about that Faith. It's about love and giving, and spending time with the people you love" said Buffy, grabbing her girlfriend's arm as she tried to get her point across.

"That's what they want ya think" said Faith, pulling her arm away. "But it's not, and it hasn't been for a long time." She sighed and headed off down the hall. "I'm goin' to bed B, call me when Christmas is over."

--

Faith reached her bedroom and opened the door, but was startled when a strangely familiar young woman suddenly appeared.

"Who the hell are you, and what do ya think you're doin' in my room?"

"I am Kendra, the slayer dat came before you. I'm here to bring you to your senses!" said the woman.

"Right, well don't meen to offend you or anythin' Kendra" said Faith, "but aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"I am dead, but dat's not important right now" said Kendra. "What's important is dat you've got the chance to spend Christmas with people who love you. Don't you know how many people wish dat dey could have dat? Don't you know how much I wish I could have had dat?"

"Look, I'm sorry you died young and all, but how I choose to celebrate or not celebrate Christmas is none of your freakin' business."

"You're right, it's not" Kendra smirked. "I'm just a messenger, here to tell you dat three ghosts are going to visit you tonight. Hopefully dey can knock some sense into you." And with that, she disappeared. Faith stared at the spot where she had been, mouth agape.

"Maybe breakin' into Giles' liquor cabinet wasn't such a good idea.."


	2. The Ghost Of Christmas Past, Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'A Christmas Carol'.

* * *

Faith decided that Kendra's appearance in her room had been due to either lack of sleep, or a liquor induced hallucination. It couldn't have been real, could it?. No, she decided, it definitely couldn't. So the Dark Slayer changed into her PJs and climbed into bed, and was just beginning to drift off, when suddenly...

"Hello Faith." The ghost of Joyce Summers appeared at the foot of the bed, dressed in a long white robe.

"Ahh!" Faith yelped, then quickly tried to regain her composure, with little success. "Joyce.. what.. how...?"

"I'm the ghost of Christmas Past. Didn't Kendra tell you I was coming?" said Joyce, frowning. "

"She told me" Faith replied, calming down a little. "I just didn't really believe her. Ghosts turnin' up in your room isn't exactly normal, even for slayers."

"I guess that's true" said Joyce, reaching out to take the slayer's hand. "Now come on, there's a lot you have to see and not much time to show it to you."

"Whoa, hang on there for a second, I'm not goin'..." Before Faith could finish voicing her protest, the room was empty.

--

"Damn, Joyce!" Faith yelled, wrapping her arms around herself to try and gain more warmth as she looked around the snow covered street they had appeared on. "You could have at least told me to grab a coat or somethin'."

"There wasn't time" Joyce replied, pulling the robe from her shoulders and wrapping it around Faith. "Here, wear this, I don't really need it."

"Uh, thanks" said Faith, feeling a little awkward. "So, where are we anyway?"

"_When _are we is the more appropriate question Faith. Look around, doesn't any of this seem familiar to you?" Faith looked around, frowning when she caught sight of one familiar house.

"We're in Boston, and that's the house I grew up in" she growled, pointing to it. "If you think me seein' antythin' that happened around here is gonna make me see the good in Christmas, you've got another thing comin'. "

"I think I might just be able to change your mind there" Joyce smiled. "Come on." The ghost of Christmas Past led Faith up to the house's front window, and gestured for her to look inside. One woman appeared to be passed out at the end of the couch, but at the other end an elderly lady was bouncing a dark-haired baby on her knee, and the baby appeared to be playing with a small reindeer plush toy.

"That baby.. is that me?" Faith asked.

"Uh-huh" Joyce replied.

"Who's the old broad?"

"Honestly Faith, show some respect" said Joyce, frowning at the slayer. "That's your grandmother."

"And you're showing me this why?"

"So you know you had at least one family member who loved you."

"Yeah, well if she loved me so much where was she the rest of my freakin' life huh?"

"She got sick Faith. She died just before your second birthday."

"Oh" said Faith, suddenly feeling very guilty for thinking badly of the woman through the window who seemed so enaamoured with her infant self. "I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"It's okay" said Joyce, placing a hand on the Dark Slayer's shoulder. "Now come, there's something else I want to show you.."


	3. The Ghost Of Christmas Past, Part Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'A Christmas Carol'.

* * *

Faith frowned again when she and Joyce arrived at their next destination.

"Now we're in my shitty little hotel room back in Sunnydale!" She cried, gesturing to her younger self kneeling on the floor nearby as she attempted to repair the crappy reception on the room's small television, yelling numerous profanities at the appliance as she did so. "How the hell is this supposed to get me into the spirit of Christmas?"

"Think, Faith" said Joyce. "Your first Christmas in Sunnydale, who did you spend it with?" Just as the answer to this dawned on the Dark Slayer, a knock on the door was heard. The young Faith got up to answer it, and found a young Buffy Summers asking her to Christmas dinner.

"I spent it with you guys" said Faith, turning to Joyce. "You forced B to ask me, didn't you?"

"I didn't really force her" said Joyce. "I'm her mother, I was just giving her a little push towards what I knew she wanted but wasn't ready to admit to herself." She paused, smiling at Faith. "And deep down, I knew you wanted it too." Faith glanced over at her younger self, who had just given her 'thanks but no thanks' reply to Buffy's invitation, and was now witnessing the beginnings of her change of heart regarding the situation. Joyce placed a hand on the Dark Slayer's shoulder. "I think you've learned all you can from this part of the day. Let's move forward a little."

--

Faith and Joyce now appeared in the Summers' backyard, where the young Faith and Dawn stood nearby making a snowman.

"What's the Pipsqueak doin' here?" asked Faith. "She didn't exist for another two years!"

"It doesn't matter" said Joyce, smiling wistfully at the scene of her daughter and the girl who very easily could have become like one if the circumstances had been different. "This is how you remember it, isn't it?" Faith nodded, and then for awhile, the Dark Slayer and ghost of Christmas Past just stood back and watched.

--

"Hey Faith?" a twelve-year old Dawn Summers asked the slayer, a suspiciously sweet smile on her face.

"What?" Faith replied, not noticing the look as she was too busy trying to decide what she should use for the snowman's nose. Dawn's smile widened as she threw her hidden snowball, striking Faith in the back.

"Gotcha!" she cried, bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Oh, you are so gonna get it now Pipsqueak" Faith smirked, bending over to gather her own snowball. An all-out snowball war ensued, and the still noseless snowman was forgotten. "Hey, come back here!" Faith shouted, chasing after the still giggling Dawn as she ran around to the front of the house. "I'm not done with you yet!" The Dark Slayer threw her snowball.. and hit Buffy square in the face as she walked up the front path. "Shit! Sorry B, I was tryin' to hit the Pipsqueak. She started it."

"Did she now?" said Buffy, slowly turning around to face her younger sister as she peeked out from behind Joyce's car. She smiled at Faith, and a menacing grin spread over the original slayer's face as she scooped up a handful of snow. "Come on, Faith. Let's get her."

--

Faith and the ghostly Joyce continued watching the three girls until the living Joyce called them inside for some hot cocoa. Joyce looked over at Faith, happy to see that a smile, albeit a small one, graced the slayer's face.

"Good Christmas memories I hope?"

"Well, yeah, this one is" said Faith. "But what I did after kinda ruins it."

"It doesn't matter what happened after Faith" said Joyce. "It matters that it happened."

"Well, it's still only one good Christmas thrown in amongst a heap of bad ones" Faith replied, her frown now returned.

"I've shown you all I can" Joyce sighed. "It's time to take you back."

--

The pair re-appeared in Faith's bedroom.

"Well, I hope I've helped you in some way. Goodbye Faith."

"Bye. Oh, and Joyce?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about the whole crazy kidnap hostage thing last time I saw you. It's actually one of the things I regret most."

"Forget it, Faith" Joyce smiled as she began to fade away. "It's all in the past."


	4. The Ghost Of Christmas Present

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'A Christmas Carol'.

* * *

Just when Faith was beginning to fall back to sleep, and really starting to hope the whole ghost thing was just a dream, she heard another familiar voice at the end of her bed.

"Faith, wake up."

"What the hell, Angel?" Faith cried, staring at the ensouled vamp. For a second she considered the possibility that the ghost thing still may have been a dream and her vampire friend was in her room for some other reason, but since Angel was still somewhere in L.A and, as far as she knew, lacked the ability to teleport, the ghost option was really the only plausible reason for him being there. "Why are you one of the freakin' ghosts?"

"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present" Angel explained. "I guess its because I'm the person who's most consistently visited you around Christmas until this point, so you associate me with Christmas in your subconscious."

"I guess that kinda makes sense" said Faith, sighing as she climbed out of bed, resigned to her fate. "So, what are you gonna show me?"

--

Angel took Faith to the huge main hall of the slayer school, which, being the school's social centre, contained the Christmas tree. A group of potentials including Vi, Rona, Chao-Ahn, and a few others sat around the tree, opening up the Christmas cards they had received from their families and placing their gifts under the tree to be opened the next morning.

"You know, for most of them, this is their first Christmas away from their family" said Angel.

"I know" Faith replied.

"It must be hard for them" Angel continued, "But they've still managed to get into the Christmas spirit."

"Well yeah" said Faith. "They've got a bunch of other people who are goin' through the same thing to share their feelings with."

"And you don't?" asked Angel, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't say that" Faith replied, staring at her feet. "B doesn't need me as much as the mini-slayers need each other. She still has some family, she's got Dawn."

"Dawn's not a slayer" Angel pointed out. "You're the only one who understands what it means to be a slayer like she does. It's part of the reason she fell in love with you." At this, Faith let out a small, sarcastic chuckle.

"What? You don't think Buffy loves you?"

"I didn't say that either. Jeez Angel, stop tryin' to put words into my mouth. I know B loves me, I'm just not sure if I deserve it.."

"Buffy thinks you do" said Angel, "And hers is the only opinion that has ever really mattered to you." Before Faith could reply to this, Angel took hold of her arm. "Let's go see what she's doing now."

--

Now they were in the room that the Scooby gang had claimed as their own when the school was opened, to use for meetings or if they just needed a break from the SITs. Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and Tara sat on the sofa, while Xander sat in an armchair nearby with Anya in his lap. Buffy's shoulders slumped forward, and she pouted, looking depressed. She was still wearing her Santa hat, but the flashing bauble on the end didn't seem as bright as it was before. Faith, beginning to feel a little guilty, stepped forward as if to place a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"B.."

"She can't hear you Faith" said Angel.

"I know that" Faith withdrew her hand, again feeling awkard.

--

"Come on Buffy, you know what Faith's like" said Dawn, trying to comfort her sister.

"Yeah, what did you expect to happen when you tried to make her wear a Santa hat?" Xander added.

"I know" Buffy sighed. "It's just.. this is our first Christmas together. I thought that would at least mean something."

"Maybe you should wear the hat in bed" Anya suggested. "Give positive reinforcement in the form of se.."

"Ahn!" Xander hissed, clapping a hand over his girlfriend's mouth before she could finish this sentence. They had got their relationship back on track after Sunnydale fell, agreeing to take things more slowly this time around.

"Sorry, I thought it was only ourselves having sex that we weren't allowed to talk about in public" said Anya. "You really have to be more clear about that sweetie."

"Just give her time" said Tara, turning to Buffy. "I'm sure she'll come around."

"By tomorrow?" Buffy asked. All the other Scoobies suddenly became very interested in their feet. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

--

"If I'd known it meant that much to her I would've worn the damn hat" Faith mumbled.

"We've made some good progress here" said Angel. "Unfortunately, we can't really expand on it right now because I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present and there's really nothing else important going on in the present for me to show you."

--

And so, they returned to Faith's room.

"Hey" called Faith, before the ghost disappeared. "Do you know if the real Angel's gonna pop in for a visit anytime soon? I kinda miss him."

"I'll look into it" Angel smiled. "Merry Christmas Faith."


	5. The Ghost Of Christmas Future

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'A Christmas Carol'.

* * *

Faith barely had time to crawl back under the covers before the next ghost appeared. This one, unlike the previous two, was not instantly recognisable. Or it was, just not as a friend. Come to think of it, the ghost of Christmas future looked a lot like the grim reaper. If Faith hadn't known any better, she'd say that the ghost of Christmas Future _was_ the grim reaper. And she'd be lying if she said that that fact wasn't making her piss herself, just a little. The Dark Slayer climbed out of bed, swallowing hard.

"So, you must be the ghost of Christmas Future. What've you got to show me?" The ghost did not reply, simply turning and heading out the door. "Hey wait, am I supposed to follow you or somethin'?" The ghost gave a tiny, barely noticeable nod, before continuing on. Faith hesitated for a few seconds, but then the ghost, though its face was completely obscured, turned to look at her as if glaring, so she quickly followed.

--

They returned to the Scooby gang's sitting room, though Faith seemed to know instinctively that this version of the room was somehow different from the one she had visited with Angel earlier. It seemed darker somehow, and inside Buffy sat alone, sobbing. Faith bit her lip, fighting the overwhelming urge to run over and comfort her girlfriend, knowing that she couldn't see, hear, or feel her.

"What's B so upset about?" she asked softly. "Why's she cryin'?" At this moment, the Ghost of Christmas Future spoke for the first time. The voice seemed somehow familiar, but gave her a very unsettling feeling, it was a voice that was cold but used to be warm, and had somehow lost that warmth.

"You left her."

"What?! But.." Before Faith could have time to really process this information, the ghost began to move again, and Faith was forced to follow.

--

Soon, they stopped in the entrance hall. Buffy was speeding towards the gate, grabbing her jacket along the way, a bag of weapons already slung over her shoulder.

"Buffy, wait up!" cried Dawn, as she, Willow, and Tara chased after the slayer. "You haven't even told us where you're going!"

"Faith" Buffy panted. "It's Faith, she's in trouble."

"Whoa, hang on Buff, let me get this straight" said Willow. "Nobody has seen or heard from Faith in the past three years, but then she makes one phone call and you're just going to drop everything and go to her, when she didn't even give any real explanation?"

"She needs me Will" said Buffy, slipping on her jacket. "I can't just leave her when she's in trouble, I..I still love her." And with that, the slayer headed out the door. Willow stared at the place she had been standing for a few seconds, before sighing.

"She's my best friend and I love her, but I really don't understand that girl sometimes."

"I do" said Tara. Willow raised a confused eyebrow at her girlfriend, so she gave an example to explain further. "Remember when we broke up?"

"Yeah" Willow frowned. "But I don't see what that has to do with Buffy."

"Think, Will" Tara continued. "If, at anytime during the time we were broken up, I had called and needed help, what would you have done?"

"I would have gone straight.. oh" the wicca trailed off. "Now I get it."

--

The ghost moved off again, and soon, Faith found herself following it through a graveyard.

"So, B didn't make it in time to save me huh?" At Faith's words, the ghost once again turned to glare at her.

"Who said we were going to _your _grave?" Faith felt a shiver down her spine at these words, and as they stopped in front of a headstone, and she read the name engraved on it, the Dark Slayer felt her blood run cold, both because she recognised the name, as well as the Ghost of Christmas Future's voice.

"Buffy.." she turned to the ghost, who let her hood fall back so that Faith was staring into the now deathly-pale face and hollow, sunken eyes of the woman she loved.

"I loved you so much" said ghost-Buffy, with almost no feeling in her voice. "I loved you, but you couldn't accept it, so you left. If you hadn't left, I wouldn't have run off to try and save you. I wouldn't have died."

"I won't leave!" Faith cried. "I'll stay B, I can change it, I promise!"

"It's too late for that" said the ghost, turning and walking away.

"It's not!" cried Faith, trying to chase after her, but never getting any closer. "I'll change it! Come back! Buffy!"


	6. A New Future

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'A Christmas Carol'.

* * *

Faith sat bolt upright, gasping, beads of cold sweat running over her skin. The first rays of sunlight were filtering through a gap in the curains. Faith leapt out of bed. She had to find Buffy, the ghost was wrong, it wasn't too late, she was going to stop that horrible future from becoming a reality. The Dark Slayer sped out into the hallway, almost crashing into Rona, who was heading to the main hall.

"Yo Rona, what day is it?" Faith asked, wanting to make sure that she hadn't been out longer than she thought, or left to sleep through the holiday as she had earlier instructed. Rona looked at her as though she was insane.

"It's Christmas, Faith." She raised a hand to the Dark Slayer's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Never been better" Faith grinned. "Have you seen Buffy around?"

"I think she's still in bed.."

"Well I'll just have to fix that then won't I?" said Faith, grin widening as she once again sped off down the hall. "Can't let her sleep through Christmas!"

--

After Faith had made her way into Buffy's room, she spotted the two Santa hats sitting on the bedside table, grabbing one and jamming it onto her head before leaping onto the bed where her sleeping girlfriend lay.

"Hey B!" she cried. "B, wake up, it's Christmas!" Buffy began to stir, then yawned and sat up, raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend who was bouncing on the bed like an excited child.

"Faith, what's got into you all of a sudden?"

"Christmas spirit, that's what!" Faith grinned. "Look B, I know I was kinda moody yesterday, but I've had some time to think about things and I've decided I want to make it up to you. So, are we good?"

"Well, you were pretty moody" Buffy began seriously, before her face broke out into a huge smile and she pulled Faith into a kiss. "But that's just you. Yeah, we're good."

"Good" said Faith, smiling. "Now come on, let's go watch the mini-slayers open their presents from home, it'll be fun!"

--

"Okay, got one here for Vi, one for Chao-Ahn, and this one's for you G-man.." After she and Buffy had made their way to the main hall, and all the other Scoobies and Slayers-in-training had arrived, Faith had taken on the job of handing out the presents to everyone.

"Who died and made her Mother Christmas?" said Anya, as she and the rest of the Scooby gang watched on, slightly confused by the Dark Slayer's change of heart.

"I don't know" Buffy smiled. "But whatever happened, I'm not complaining about it."

"And she seems happy" Tara added. "That has to be good."

"Yeah" said Buffy, her smile widening. Then suddenly, down the other end of the hall, two figures covered with flaming blankets burst through the doors, with a blue-skinned woman in battle armour just behind them. Angel let the blanket slip off his shoulders, and found a group of wide-eyed SITs staring at him.

"Uh.. hi" he said, feeling a little awkward. "This _is _the Slayer School right?"

--

The remaining members of the Fang Gang explained that, since the Hyperion had been partially destroyed in the battle with Wolfram & Heart's supernatural army, they had had nowhere else to go, and so, after a week involving one very uncomfortable ride in the luggage compartment of a plane, and a long train trip with the curtains pulled down over the compartment windows, they had finally made it here. And of course the Scoobies, aside from a slightly suspicious Xander and Giles, were happy to have them. Faith then returned to handing out the presents, and when she got to the last one, realised that it was for her, from Buffy. Buffy had had Willow create a magical replica of the Scythe so that they, The Chosen Two, could both have one.

"Damn, B" she said, feeling guilty. "I didn't get you anythin'... but I will! I'll make it up to ya B, what do you want? Tell me and I'll get it for ya tomorrow when all the shops open again."

"You've already given me what I wanted Faith" Buffy smiled. "I just wanted us to be together and happy. But, if you did want to give me something else.." she pointed upwards, indicating that the two slayers were standing under a sprig of mistletoe. "There's a little Christmas tradition that I'd kinda like to fulfil."

"With pleasure" Faith grinned, lowering her lips to Buffy's. And it was then that the Dark Slayer made a decision. Christmas wasn't so bad. In fact she liked it. She liked it a lot.


End file.
